SSE follows E.On with gas price cut

The UK's second biggest energy supplier

SSE is to cut its standard gas tariff for domestic customers by 5.3%.

 

SSE is the second of the big six suppliers

to announce price cuts this winter. Both companies are only cutting gas, not electricity prices.

Last week E.On said it would cut gas prices by 5.1%.

Oil price to remain low in 2016, says Total boss

The price of Brent crude is currently under $43 a barrel, down more than 60% since last summer, while US light crude is trading below $40 a barrel. 

Oil prices have not been this low for more than 10 years.

And Total's Patrick Pouyanne "doesn't anticipate a recovery in 2016". In fact, he thinks supply will grow faster than demand next year.

He is not alone. Last Friday, Goldman Sachs put out a note suggesting prices could fall a lot further.

"While [we are] forecasting oil prices over the next few months to be near $40 a barrel, or roughly where they are trading today, there could be another 50% to fall," the investment bank said.

Asset sales

Pharma CEO Martin Shkreli who jacked up AIDS pill price by 5,000% says he should have charged even more

The drug company CEO who jacked up the price of a life-saving pill to $750 from $13.50 said he wishes he had raised the price even more.

Turing Pharmaceuticals chief Martin Shkreli is now facing new lower-priced competition and government scrutiny. But he said at a forum hosted by Forbes magazine Thursday that the outcry over his company’s list price for a Daraprim pill didn’t cause him any regrets.

“I probably would have raised prices higher, is probably what I should have done.” said Shkreli, 32. “I could have raised it higher and made more profits for our shareholders, which is my primary duty."

 

He continued, “No one wants to say it, no one's proud of it, but this is a capitalist society, capitalist system and capitalist rules, and my investors expect to me to maximize profits, not to minimize them, or go half, or go 70%, but to go to 100% of the profit curve that we're all taught in MBA class."

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Now is the best time to buy a home! When property prices decline, opportunities to capitalize present themselves.  Today is a buyer’s market.

Economic growth slows rapidly-US

Gross domestic product grew at an annualised pace of 1.5% between July and September, according to the Department of Commerce, down from a rate of 3.9% in the second quarter.

The slowdown was partly due to companies running down stockpiles of goods in their warehouses. 

 

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged and said the economy was expanding at a "moderate" pace.

iPhone sales send Apple profits up

The tech giant's revenue was $51.5bn (£33.6bn), up 22% compared with the same period last year.

It sold more than 48 million iPhones in the period, which it said were "record fourth quarter sales", although the figure did miss analysts' expectations.

 

It also reported a net income of $11.1bn for the period, adding that 2015 was its most successful ever year.

Do Not Price Your Product For Customers Who Cannot Afford It

A funny thing happens on the way to building a successful business. At a certain point you actually need customers who can pay you for the product or service that you offer.

It seems so obvious — you need someone to pay for your business efforts if you plan to continue to happily work there. And very likely you will need a lot of paying customers to build a growing business.

This fact is sometimes forgotten in tech hubs like Silicon Valley, where all flavors of investors are willing to plow billions into promising companies. They do so because it’s a numbers game to them. They know that for every ten losers, one of their investments will take off. And if you believe conventional wisdom, you need to spend money to make money.

Logistics Company, Red Star Express posts N6.7bn turnover

red star express

Red Star Express Plc, leading logistics Company, today posted N6.7Billion turnover  for the financial year ended March 31, 2015 and a profit after tax of N611million representing one percent increase in profit over 603.9 million profit for last year.

Inflation increases to 9.2%, Fuel Crisis takes toll on Food Prices......

Nigeria’s inflation advanced 0.2 percentage points to 9.2 percent in June, the highest level in over 24 months, as irregularity in fuel supply across the country continued to weigh on local consumer prices, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The NBS in a new report said fuel sold at N112.13 per litre on the average across the country in June, much higher than the N87 official price.

The Nigerian government last year cut fuel pump price to N87 per litre to reflect reduced landing costs of petroleum products, but figures from the NBS show that none of the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory sells the product at that rate.

 

In June, average pump price of fuel was costliest in Bayelsa at N155 per litre, followed by Niger at N138.33 and then Kogi at N128.33. The product sold the cheapest in Zamfara at N93, followed by Edo at N94.45. In Lagos, the nation’s commercial centre, fuel sold N102.63 per litre last month.

Prolong Fuel Scarcity’ caused as ‘Banks Responsible

NIGERIA- The non-cooperation of banks on the account of the debts they are owed by oil marketing companies will prolong the current fuel scarcity. This is in spite of assurances given to the marketers by the Federal Government that it would settled the outstanding payment.

 

This is even as the Petroleum Product and Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) is alleged to have reduced both the volume and number of marketers it has given licences for fuel importation, for the third quarter of the year.

Nigerian Economic situation gets Messier as Crude Oil Prices decline further

The Nigeria’s financial situation may get messier if the prediction of the International Energy Agency (IEA) comes to pass.

According to the agency, oil prices may fall further this year because the world remains “massively oversupplied,” before markets tighten in 2016.

Nigeria economy is experiencing some difficulties because of the decline in the price of crude oil. The country depends on oil as it major source of foreign exchange earnings. It current daily production averaged 1.8 million barrel per day as against projected 2.3 million barrels per day in the 2015 budget of the government.

Crude oil theft coupled with constant pipeline vandalism by militants in the Niger Delta have combined to castrate the crude oil production growth in the country.

Ghanaian Cost of Tomatoes Drop Further in Ghana Markets

Checks by Esoko Ghana revealed that there has been a stable supply of the local tomatoes from the growing areas such as Tuabodom, Akumadan and Navrongo.

 

A “medium size tomato tin” full of fresh tomatoes sold about GHS 13.21 dropping 31 percent in Accra.

Food and Agricultural Organisation troubles over Fall in Maize Growth

The Food and Agriculture Organisation on Thursday expressed concern over growing shortfall in maize grown in sub-Saharan Africa as well as poor production in other food in insecure hotspots.

 

In a statement in Rome, FAO said prospects for rice production in Asia and India had also deteriorated.

Raise in Tomato Prices due to Delayed Rains, Poor Irrigation, Fuel Scarcity

NIGERIA - Tomato fruit prices are skyrocketing across the country on account of delayed seasonal rains, inadequate off-season irrigation planning, a rising and ebbing fuel scarcity , and roads in disrepair.

Consumers  have thus turned to buying up stocks of  canned tomato puree, causing highier than expected sales in that segment. External economies are however benefiting most from this development, as most canned tomato products are imported.

Tomatoes constitute 18 percent of all vegetables consumed by the Nigerian populace, according to a research  by the Agricultural Economics department of the University of Ibadan.

Early in 2014, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, then governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), expressed concern about Nigeria’s N16 billion  annual import bill on tomato pastes. This, he said, was due to very high demand for tomatoes in the country, which unfortunately, the farmers could not provide because of poor storage methods. 

This year’s price increase has reached an unusual high of N30,000 for a 50kg basket of tomatoes at the Mile 12 market – a major farm produce hub in Lagos.

Nigeria’s economy in bad shape, lament APC governors

Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have decried the state of the country’s economy as they advised the incoming administration of Muhammadu Buhari to set up a strong economic team that will upturn the economy for good.

Dangote Cement production hits 30mmt across Africa

Aliko Dangote, president, Dangote Group, has disclosed that the Dangote Cement annual production across Africa now stood in the region of 30 million metric tons (mmt), a feat that is earning Nigeria respect among the comity of nations.

Speaking at the just concluded Kaduna International Trade Fair, Dangote said “his conglomerate plans big for the African economy,” saying Africans must look inward and put their human and natural resources to best uses, rather than political conflicts.

McDonald's announces global shake-up

McDonald's has said it will restructure its business and increase its number of franchised restaurants globally.

 

The fast-food chain reported poor results for the first quarter of 2015.

Higher borrowing cost crimps Forte Oil’s profit

Forte Oil plc, a company that operates in the downstream oil and gas sector, took a hit at the bottomline as increased borrowing cost continues to hurt profits, analysis of its financial statement shows.

For the first three months through March 2015, the company’s net income fell by 28.93 percent to N783.14 million from N1.10 billion the same period of the corresponding year of (Q1) 2014.

Oil projects above $17 per barrel not sustainable, says NNPC

New and existing oil projects that exceed $17 per barrel are not sustainable at the current average crude oil price of about $50 per barrel, says the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

 

Speaking at the 2015 Oloibiri lecture series and energy forum (OLEF), Timothy Okon, group coordinator, corporate planning & strategy, NNPC, said that beyond 33 percent cost-price ratio, the industry will suffer, adding that low cost-price ratio must be adhered to so that operators can make profit and pay government entitlements and taxes.

Nigerian Breweries sales drag on weak consumer spending

 

Nigerian Breweries plc sales rose at the slowest pace in a year as the country’s biggest brewer continues to capitulate to weak consumer spending amid falling oil prices.